Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante

Short Chassis Volante

(1965 - 1966)

A very interesting car, the Short-chassis Volante, for many reasons. It was the first Aston Martin to be called Volante; the drop-head DB4's and 5's should never be call a Volante. The car was based on the last of the DB5 chassis but was introduced at the same time as the DB6 and so looks somewhat similar. During the single year of production, only 37 were built until the 'short chassis' was superseded by the DB6 Volante proper.

The bodywork is similar to the DB5 convertible but shares many DB6 features such as the interior trim, split front and rear bumpers and an enlarged oil cooler opening. Whilst at the back the boot lid is unswept with DB5 Convertible like rear wings mounted with the Triumph sourced DB6 style rear light clusters. Knowing these details make this car easier to identify.

In addition to the regular triple SU equiped engine, the short chassis could also be specified with the Vantage engine complete with triple Weber carburettors.

One of the cars featured below, arguably the best example of a short chassis Volante was shown on the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegence in 2013. The car achieved 2nd place in the Aston Martin Centenary class and can be seen crossing the famous ramp to recieve the award.